The Favour
by KissMeJamesYouGotItBlondie
Summary: In an AU, Mary and Matthew are attending the same University and both have problems. Mary has to attend a family wedding and doesn't want to go alone. Matthew can't afford the fee's. Mary has money and Matthew is a good looking guy. Ah, the possibilities.
1. The Invitation

**Here's a new story for you, a Downton AU with Mary and Matthew as the central characters and couple. This idea came to me after reading several other similar stories on different forums, but I've got a few little twists planned along the way :)**

**I should point out that, as this is an AU, Mary and Matthew are in no way related and I've added a few branches to the Crawley family tree; I do hope that this doesn't put you off. Thanks guys :)**

**I hope you like it xD**

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><p>Mary sighed. The heavy piece of parchment in her hand was like a giant slap in the face. She'd known for months that it was coming, but she didn't expect it to be quite so soon and yet here it was. The invitation. The paper itself was cream with a border of calligraphy flowers set in gold and silver. The writing itself was golden and intricate; Mary had to slant the paper slightly since it was in italics.<p>

**_You are cordially invited to celebrate the wedding of_**

**_Sir Harvey Grayson and Lady Helena Crawley_**

**_On Saturday 14th April 2012 at three o'clock_**

**_The event is to take place at Lady Helena's cousins residence, the Grantham Estate and is to be hosted by_**

**_Lord and Lady Grantham_**

**_Guests are invited to bring a plus one_**

**_We hope you are able to__ att__end__ and witness as Sir Harvey and Lady Helena are joined in Holy Matrimony_**

Mary couldn't help but roll her eyes. This had Cora Crawley, her mother, written all over it. From the 'cordially' to the 'holy matrimony'. Her mother always went overboard on weddings and Mary hated it. She had been encouraging Mary for years to find a sensible, temperance man and 'settle down', so much so that Mary found herself reminding her mother that they weren't living in the nineteenth century anymore.

She held onto the paper as she stared up at it, lying on her back on the satin covers on her bed. She sighed eventually and put it down, moving from her room into the bathroom and switching on the shower. As she did so, she tried to think of ways that she could get out of going to the wedding.

She could feign an illness but, if she remembered correctly, she had done that for her fathers fiftieth. She could claim that she was too stressed over exams, but she'd done that for Sybils twenty first. Of course, then it had been true. She could always say that she had prior engagements, but then she'd have to actually find something to do. Everyone knew that Mary Crawley had a hard time keeping anything to herself and that if she ever had plans, they were always plastered onto her Facebook wall the morning after.

_Damn social networking._

She could fake cramps! No. That was the worst excuse in the world and she'd tried to use if for her elder sister, Alexandra's daughters christening. To be fair, she regretted that decision as Blaire really was such an adorable little girl.

As she climbed into the shower, Mary began to dread the thought of going to the wedding. It was only a week away and she already felt sick just thinking about it. She'd have to face her parents after almost half a year of trying to avoid them. She'd have to sit through dinner with Edith, whom she would most definitely be placed by because the entire family, immediate and extended, found their spats hilarious. She'd have to watch Sybil and her Irish socialist boyfriend, Tom, be all lovey dovey across the table and she'd have to listen to her mother go on and on about how her youngest sister, Katherine, was getting top marks in her A-levels and was set to be going to Cambridge.

Mary's scowl deepened at the thought. She loved Katie, of course, but the way her mother went on about the child you'd think she was a female version of the Baby Jesus. Mary had been all set for Cambridge, too, until the...incident. She'd been on course, had her eye on the prize, could see the end of the tunnel.

At least, until her friend Anna invited her to a party and she'd met the devilishly charming and handsome Kemal Pamuk. Mary wasn't supposed to be at the party in the first place. She'd been seventeen at the time, still a child, not yet a woman in societies eyes and that was exactly why she'd done what she shouldn't; she'd taken every drink thrown her way and she's even had a drag on someones spliff, though it had been the first and last time she'd done it.

And somehow, she'd ended up in one of the bedrooms. That would have been OK, if she'd been alone. However, as a chaste, drunk young Lady (literally), she'd allowed Kemal Pamuk, a teenager three years her senior, 'have his way with her' as her mother had phrased it later. Mary didn't have the heart to tell her mother that she'd been a willing participant in the act; she still didn't nine years later.

Mary was pulled out of her reverie as Jessie J's Domino rang out loudly and she hurriedly turned off the shower and climbed out, wrapping a towel around her body and grabbing her mobile. Immediately after answering, Mary realized that she'd broken one of her golden rules; always check caller I.D.

"Mary? It's Edith." Mary sighed, as if she could possibly mistake that voice for anyone but her sister.

"Yes. What do you want, Edith?" She asked, and quickly fought to make her voice a little bit more polite, after all, they _sometimes _got along. Not often, but sometimes. "I'm just a little busy, you see"

"Yeah, sorry about that, I was just checking to see whether you'd gotten your invite to Lena's wedding?" She asked in a bored fashion. When Mary proceded to tell her that yes, she had received her invite but didn't think she could make it, Edith quickly jumped in. "You're kidding, right? I mean, you're really going to do this again? Honestly, mama is already beating herself up, thinking that you've got something personal against her. You know how mama gets"

Mary did know, and nothing annoyed her more than her overly-humble mother taking everything to heart. Katie and Sybil were exactly the same. Mary and Edith, being the eldest and more like their father, were much harder to offend.

"Well you must tell her not to take it so personally, it's hardly her fault that I've so much work to do. I'm surprised that you've been able to take time off from Vogue"

Edith worked at a fashion magazine. Mary had been exceptionally surprised when Edith had been given an internship at British Vogue when she was eighteen. No one in the family, as far as Mary knew, was aware that Edith had such a love for fashion. And yet, four years later and Edith was writing her own article for the magazine called 'Ladies in Linen'. The actual article wasn't about linen, just about what the countries elite were wearing on a day to day basis. Mary hadn't starred in it for some time but this was only due to the fact that she had evaded her sister and the rest of the family, a streak which she had accepted would soon be coming to an end.

"I can work away from the office" She heard Edith say from the phone, "and you can tell mama yourself since you'll be at the wedding, correct?"

Mary sighed and nodded, before she realized that Edith couldn't see her. "Yes, fine, whatever. I will be there"

"And you'll bring your boyfriend?"

That stopped Mary's breath. Boyfriend? She quickly grabbed the invite from where she'd dumped it on the side and looked at it.

_'Guests are invited to bring a plus one'_

_Would the torture never end?_

"Mary?" Edith, on the other end of the line, was insistent. "Mary, please tell me you're bringing a guy. I am, Sybil will be bringing Tom, obviously and even Katie is bringing her boyfriend from College"

"Wait, Katie has a boyfriend?" Mary asked and she heard Edith heave a great sigh.

"Mary, thats hardly the issue right now. Listen, I'm in the office and Estelle is calling me so I have to go. We'll see you Friday, right?"

"Wait-Friday?" Of course! The family would be driving down in order to settle into the house and have dinner together the night before. Mary slowly closed her eyes and spoke, "Yeah, Friday. Of course. And I'll be there. With my boyfriend"

And with that she hung up. It was only when she was drying her hair ten minutes later that she realized the impact of what she had just done.

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><p><strong>Sooo...what do you think?<strong>

**I'm up for constructive criticism :) Actually, I welcome it!**

**I really hope you enjoyed it!**

_**TBC**_


	2. The Chance Meeting

**Here's chapter two of The Favour. I hope you were pleased with the first chapter :) I was so pleased and into it that I decided that I had absolutely no choice but to get straight into writing chapter two.**

**Here it is;**

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><p>Matthew was in a mess. He was trying to concentrate on writing, honestly he was, but currently his success rate was about 0.5%. The essay in front of him was all about the General Principles of Land Law. And how boring it was indeed. In truth, he'd been trying to write this essay all through the night and morning, as the six drained cups of what was once coffee which sat in front of him showed.<p>

Matthews mind, however, was else where. He could hardly see the point of trying to finish the essay when he wasn;t going t be able to finish his course anyway. He simply didn't have the money. He'd been forced to take out a loan for his student fee's in his first few years and then, in his second year, his mother had been cast out of her house and Matthew had been forced to take out yet another loan as a deposit on a new house because his mothers credit rating, without sounding harsh, had been a mess since before his father died.

And so, it was with a grieving heart that Matthew decided he would have to leave University and go straight into full time employment. Perhaps, if he made enough money, he could take night classes, but it didn't seem like a very plausible dream. Still, the idea of being stuck in an office or in a factory for the rest of his life was horrid to Matthew. He simply couldn't stomach the notion, knowing that he'd never make any money, never make anything of himself. Yet, what other option was there?

"C'mon, Matthew" He told himself, "You'll make yourself mad if you stay say here all day"

Reluctantly, Matthew pulled himself to his feet, cleared away the coffee mugs. He changed out of his clothes, into clean ones, washed and shaved his face, brushed his teeth and before he let himself think about what he was doing, he pulled on his jacket and left the apartment, briefcase holding his laptop in hand.

Walking across campus, Matthew felt like an intruder. Someone who didn't deserve to be at Durham University because, as he looked around, he could see that plenty of the people here could quite clearly afford the fee's themselves, without even having to think about taking out a loan. Lucky buggers. And as Matthew walked among the elite, heading for his favourite coffee bar, he kept his head down and tried to be as unnoticeable as possible. It wasn't particularly hard.

Everyone at Durham had their own...clique, he supposed they could be called. Socialites liked to be versatile and travel between groups because this made them known. If the young people were to be heading into society soon, to intermingle with the rich, famous and, probably, royal, they had to have at least _some_ connections from their University days. Everyone did.

The coffee bar was crowded when Matthew went in, which wasn't particularly uncommon. He waited, patiently, in line and when he found himself at the front, ordered a simple black coffee. No toppings. His usual, boring order. The barista didn't look particularly excited or bothered by Matthews choice. She was an odd looking girl. Pretty, but unapproachable looking with a face painted white. Her lips stood out, blood red and her eyes were ringed with black eyeliner. Her clothes matched her makeup and she wore a red camisole covered by a sheer black blouse. On her bottom half she supported a black, netted skirt and tights which were decorated with tiny skulls. There was a pair of clunky Mary Jane's on her feet. Matthew smiled.

_Individual._

It wasn't a phrase you could use to describe very many people these days. Everyone had a certain persona to conform to and if you weren't particularly inclined to do so...well, the consequences could be as severe as you liked. Everything from being ignored to being shot applied these days. What in heavens name was wrong with the world?

Matthew spotted a table in the corner which was relatively empty apart from a girl he had seen and spoken to around campus several times. He knew her name; Mary. Mary Crawley. That, in itself, was an amazing coincidence. He walked over, cleared his throat and smiled as she looked up from her drink. Her large, brown eyes were bored.

"Excuse me, would you mind my taking a seat? I'll be ever so quiet" He said, gesturing to her book. Her lips pulled up into a slight smile and she nodded.

"Of course. Please, help yourself" She said, gesturing briefly to a chair on the other side of the table before retiring back behind her book.

Matthew and the girl sat in silence for a long time. The only sound was the tapping of Matthews keys and the turning of the girls pages. When Matthew looked up, it was to see that the book she was reading was _The Hunger Games. _He couldn't help but smile to himself. Even in Durham University, which was almost two hundred years old, where there was a library which held over 1.5 million printed classics, modern day literature managed to wheedle its way into the hearts of its inhabitants.

"Thats one of my favourites" He said, his gaze back on his computer screen.

XXXX

_"Thats one of my favourites"_

Mary glanced up over the top of the book, slightly irritated. Katniss was just about to attend the feast and Mary was not inclined to enjoy being interrupted while reading. In truth, she had only started reading the book because of the craze it had created in her household. Katie had read it and passed it on to Alexandra, who had passed it to Edith, who had passed it to Cora, who had passed it to Sybil, who had passed it to Mary. She had been perfectly ready to trash the book for all it was worth, until she found herself enjoying it. That really hadn't been part of the plan.

"Yes, well, it is rather good" She conceded, nice enough to seem polite but not nice enough to invite more conversation. Apparently, Matthew had no idea conception of this.

"I have to say," He glanced over at her book, "Yes, you're certainly past this part. I cried a little when Rue died"

Mary raised her eyebrows as if amused by this fact, which she wasn't. She internally rolled her eyes. Brilliant, she'd found herself in close contact with what she liked to call a sop. Men who cried because of what happened to fictional characters weren't high on Mary's list of possible suitors.

"You're Matthew, aren't you? Matthew Crawley?" She said, closing the book. He nodded and smiled.

"I find it rather amusing that you and I should share surnames. Mary, isn't it?"

"Lady Mary Josephine Crawley, if you wish to get technical" She quipped and he laughed. "But we'll stick to Mary and Matthew, if you don't mind"

She wasn't ususally so expressive with people, in fact she usually found it rather hard to converse politely with people like Matthew. Clearly he didn't have the same ideas of etiquette as she did; she was sitting straight backed with crossed ankles while he was slouched back in his chair, one arm thrown over the back of it, the other hand on his kness. Still, there was something undeniably nice about this man and as their conversation continued, Mary found a plan formulating in her mind.

Their conversation was steered towards more personal topics and soon, Matthew was explaining his financial situation to the very financially secure Mary Crawley, who couldn't believe her luck.

"-and so, I can't really afford next years fees, which means I'm going to have to drop out of Uni-"

This couldn't be right. Nothing could fall into place so easily. Could it?


	3. The Rejection

**CHAPTER THREEEEEE**  
><strong>Oh, my god. I really am loving this and I hope you guys are too :D Soooo many people have Alerted and Favourited this story and I love you fir it! *virtual kisses* Thank you for the reviews, too guys! It's amazing to know your writing is being appreciated!<strong>

**So, this chapters for you, as they all are! Hope you enjoy, it's very angsty ;)**

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><p>God, this was a bad idea. Mary couldn't believe the last time she'd had such a bad idea. It was the worst idea in the history of bad ideas. Worse than that party...she shuddered. Well, it was a close second.<p>

If she wasn't already stood on Matthews doorstep, she would have pushed the thought out of her mind and come up with another plan, maybe even told her sister the truth and begged Edith to keep her mouth shut. Better yet, she could just go home, phone her sister and tell her that actually, no she wouldn'tbe bringing a guest to the wedding because she and her 'boyfriend' had just broken up that day. Maybe she could even make out that she was simply too distraut about the break up to even consider coming to the wedding.

No, that'd never work. Edith knew for a fact that Mary would never let herself be so attached to a man. Still, there was no reason why the first part of the plan shouldn't work. Mary was just working out what to say to her sister, walking down the street away from Matthew's apartment when she heard him call out to her and stopped, closing her eyes briefly before she turned around.

"Matthew!" She smiled, a smile that didn't really reach her eyes. If Matthew noticed this, he didn't mention it and he seemed rather delighted to see her, if she did say so herself.

_Mary Josephine Crawley, you are a horrid person and you deserve to be ridiculed for even considering asking such a thing of such a nice man. You deserve all of the laughing that Edith is going to do, you deserve the look of disappointment you will have to endure from mama and Alexandra and the look of shock from Sybil and Katie. You deserve it all, do you hear me, all of it?_

It would seem that, while Mary had been silently reprimanding herself, Matthew had begun to speak. When Mary's ears decided to work once more, she found out that he was actually talking about asking her on a date.

"-and so, I was wondering if..."

"Can I ask you something?" Mary asked, cutting across him. Matthew looked rather taken aback at her abruptness and Mary's heart sank a little. _If he thought that was abrupt..._ "I'm afraid you'll think terribly of me once I ask this of you and I'll understand if you never want to see me again. You see, I have four sisters. Alexandra, Edith, Sybil and Katie. Well, they're all in rather healthy relationships, even though the latter three are all younger than myself, and there is a family wedding coming up this friday. I told Edith I'd bring my boyfriend and, well..."

"You don't have a boyfriend." Matthews voice was terribly quiet and Mary kept her eyes on the gravel, afraid to meet his. His voice gave away what he was feeling.

_"No._" She whispered.

"So then...why did you tell your sister you'd bring him? If he doesn't exist?"

"Because. Because I thought that I could find a man and...I dont know, bribe him into coming..."

She realized her mistake once the words were out of her mouth and found that going five minutes without feeling the need to hand, draw and quarter herself seemed an impossible task today. She hadn't meant it, lord knew she didn't mean it. Matthew didn't.

"And I suppose I'm that man." This time, the tone of his voice was what brought her eyes up to meet his. His voice was slightly amused and tired at the same time, as if this wasn't the first time a woman had been so callous and cruel to him. Mary immediately hated herself for it. "You don't even know me and yet you're so desperate to find any credulous, naive man to go along with your story. One who'll...who'll fall under the spell of your beautiful, brown eyes and you're elegant, perfect mannerisms and become immediately besotted with you"

Somewhere in the back of her mind, Mary became aware of the fact that, though he was insulting her at the same time, some of what Matthew had just said made her blush slightly. In a good way. _Beautiful, brown eyes...elegant, perfect mannerisms. _Why, oh why, had she picked this lovely, charming, caring, compassionate man to be her victim. Now she'd lost what could have been a good friend. Part of her realised that Matthew was stiill speaking and tuned back in.

"...but I'm afraid that I'll not be your volunteer, Lady Crawley" The use of her title was like a needle through her heart. "I'm afraid you'll have to find another little pet to follow your every word and jump at your every whim. Good day"

And with that, he turned on his heel and walked away. Mary, feeling like the evil witch in a heartbreaking fairy tale, took a step forwards, taking one more desperate chance.

"I'll pay for the rest of your time at University. I'll pay for everything"

Matthew stopped in his tracks and for a moment, Mary really thought that he was going to say yes. But he didn't. He just paused for a few seconds, didn't even turn around. Then she heard what sounded like "_pathetic_" and he carried on walking. She stayed frozen until the slam of his front door sent her running away from the house, feeling ashamed of herself.

XXX

He couldn't believe it.

He genuinely couldn't believe it, didn't want to. The audacity of her. Her complete disregard for his feelings, his honor, his sense of decency. She had been willing to completely overlook everything that Matthew believed, everything that he held in high regard, just so that she didn't look stupid in front of her sisters for a few days.

The longer he thought about it, the more he thought that perhaps she wasn't as harsh and heartless as his first reaction had led him to believe. He had no siblings, but still he wouldn't want them to think him foolish or lonely if he did have them. He expected that Mary had told her sister that she had a boyfriend out of panic and as a spare of the moment thing, a quick slip of the mind which created an irreparable rip in the fabric of Mary's life.

She had no way out of this that didn't end in embarrassment and shame. If she told her sisters the truth now, she would be the laughing stock of her family for years. If she didn't...well, he couldn't see how she'd be able to keep it from them.

Sighing, Matthew stood up from where he had been sitting since he walked into the house. He'd sat there for nearly an hour in shock, what she had asked him sinking into his system and the further into him that it got, the more he began to feel sorry for the girl. She was trapped, he supposed. Trapped in a world where appearances and aristocracy were everything. Where manners were the height of fashion and money was no object. Where knowledge of what was right and wrong ran in ones veins. The inescapable world of the elite. Everyone Matthew knew who had the slightest connection to that world hated it, and yet Lady Mary Josephine Crawley was smack dab in the center. He supposed that, inside, she was weak and fragile.

After all, what did she know but glamour and luxury? Not much, he'd be willing to bed.

He sighed, flipping the switch. He was too much of a nice person, he decided quietly. It had taken an hour of Mary-less atmosphere to convince him that he should help Mary.

He kept thinking about those eyes. The way they'd widened with pain at his words, the way they had pleaded with him to understand her situation. The way they creased slightly at the corners with laughter that day they had spent at the coffee bar together. He thought about her hands, the way they had folded her skirt in creases while she had stood there, immobile, allowing him to call her for everything she was worth, letting him insult her and embarrass her while she said nothing. The way they had held onto that mug of coffee, the way they pushed back her beautiful, dark hair.

He sighed once more.

Perhaps he was just a sucker for brown eyes and pretty manners, after all.


	4. The Nice Guy

**CHAPTER ** **FOUR**

**Couldn't resist. This is how much I love you ;)**

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><p>Matthew, assuming that the wedding would take place over the whole weekend, packed for several days. He packed three suits, just in case. A light grey one, a dark grey one. Those would be for dinner andor drinks. And a black tuxedo which was for the wedding itself. He had red cuff links, a red tie and a red cummerbund to match his suit which his father had passed down to him but still looked perfectly new. He hadn't bought anything new for the wedding except his shoes, which were laying, shining and bright, in his suitcase as he finally finished packing.

He walked down to his Toyota Corolla hatchback and slid his case into the boot, sighing as he slammed it shut. He hoped he wasn't making a mistake. He hadn't seen Mary since she'd asked him to come, because quite frankly he was still annoyed, even though he'd agreed in his mind that he'd do her this favor and, hey, he needed University fee's. But what if? What if she'd found someone else to take her? It wouldn't be difficult for her, he was sure she had 'suitors' falling over themselves at her feet. What if she'd told her sisters the truth and they'd forgiven her? What if she stuck her nose up at him and slammed the door in his face? What if she'd already left and he was driving to her appartment for absolutely no reason what so ever?

Well, it made no difference now. As he saw outside her building- which was much nicer than his own- he could feel himself getting rather hot under the collar and his palms were beginning to swear profusely. He hadn't felt this way since he'd been on his very first date, back when he was fifteen and still a young boy. Now, though, he was no longer a child and he knew that, one way or another, no matter what happened, the sun would shine tomorrow.

That was an old saying often used by Matthews mother in times of worry, doubt or sadness. He'd always found the words helpful and they always lifted his spirits, if only by one or two notches. Today though, they were the only thing that made him climb out of the car. As he approached the door of the building and opened it, stepping inside and breathing in deeply, the feeling of anticipation that had been growing since he made up his mind to accompany Mary made its way from his stomach to his throat, making it slightly difficult for him to breath.

_Its all in your head, Matthew. _He told himself and shook it off, knocking on Mary's door heavily once he stood outside of it. There were a few rattles from inside before the door was opened slightly and a wide, brown eye peeked out. Her hair was slightly tangled and she had a little sleep in the corner of her eye, which made him think he'd woken her up. Well, loud knocking came in handy sometimes.

"What do you want?" She asked, turning and walking further into the apartment, leaving the door open. Matthew took this as an invitation and stepped in through the buttercup yellow door.

The apartment smelled lovely, a soft scent of pine filling the air. One wall was completely covered in windows, giving it an airy feel as sunlight streamed through the windows and glinted off the immaculate, wooden floorboards. There were two white sofa's in front of the windows, their backs to them, facing a large, plasma television which sat on top of a small DVD cabinet. Matthew glanced around and saw Mary watching him.

She was stood in the kitchen area. The lounge and kitchen were the same room, but the difference was startling. While the lounge was all white, light colors, the kitchen tops were black marble and all of the appliances, from the kettle to the oven, were startlingly red. It was very chic.

When Matthews eyes travelled back to Mary,who was holding a cup of coffee, she raised her eyebrows and he remembered her earlier question.

"I'm here to take you to the wedding" He said, simply, and her eyebrows disappeared behind her fringe. She said nothing for a long while before she slammed down her cup on the side and walked away into a different room. Matthew heard her slam a door and quickly followed her. When he walked into the room that she had disappeared into, he saw that it was her bedroom. More reds and blacks.

"Leave'm alone, Matthew" He heard. Or at least, he thought he did. Mary's voice was muffled by the pillow she was laying on.

"Mary, I...I thought this would be good news" He said, thoroughly confused by her reaction. She sat up and he saw her eyes flash with fury.

"You left me almost an entire week thinking that I had offended you to the point of no return. I thought you _hated _me! How could you leave me with that guilt, Matthew?" She asked, and he just looked at her. Then he began to laugh.

"Can you yell at me in the car, please? You can either pack or I shall do it for you but you wanted to go to this darn wedding, so please." He saw a suitcase beneath the bed, pulled it out, sat it atop the quilt and unzipped it, flipping the lip open. "Pack."

XXX

When Matthew left her room, Mary sat staring at the door for a few moments, fury burning inside of her. Then it began to subside and the guilt returned. Why was he so nice? Perhaps, if he was uncaring and callous with her, she'd be much more inclined to accept his invitation but he wasn't. He was just _too _lovely! Letting out a yell of frustration, Mary threw her pillow at the door before jumping off her bed and beginning to throw thins, haphazardly into her case.

A few minutes later and her case was complete, the bag containing her dress laying beside it on the bed, her shoes with it. They were being heavily protected by a plastic box. They had to be in absolute perfect condition at the wedding. One flaw and...well, her family would have a field day. Mary stripped and had the quickest shower of her life, only half drying her hair so that, instead of its usual soft waves, it began to curl around her face. She didn't care, she'd sort it at the hotel. She only hoped they wouldn't bump into anyone before she had chance to fix herself up.

Dressed in a white dress, sandals and her denim jacket, Mary awkwardly made her way down to the car, wishing Matthew had the sense to offer to wait and carry her things down for her. Maneuvering the stairs with a suitcase, dress and a box of shoes wasn't the easiest job in the world but finally, she made it. Walking out into the carpark, she glanced around but could see nothing besides her own Aston Martin Vanquish and a little Toyota Corolla.

No...it couldn't be, could it?

It was. Matthew was sat in the Corolla, music playing, contemplating a book when she tapped on the window. He rolled it down and raised his eyebrows.

"Get out." She said and he looked confused so she opened the door to emphasize her point. "Get _out!" _

Then, without another word, she unlocked her Vanquish, walked over and put her things in the bin before climbing into the passenger side. Matthew was outside the car in seconds. He looked at her as if she'd just told him all of his Christmasses were coming at once this year and then hurried to put his own things in the trunk, settling into the drivers seat with an almost animalistic groan of satisfaction.

"This car is..well...it's..."

"Very expensive? Overly-ambitious? Eccentric?"

"Amazing!" Matthew breathed, his eyes sparkling as if he was looking upon something significant like the Holy Grail or the hand of Midas or the Loch-Ness-fricken-monster. She rolled her eyes. _Men._


	5. The Arrival

**CHAPTER FIVE**

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><p>The drive was quiet for a long while. Mary programmed the address into her satnav so that she didn't have to give Matthew directions and then she sat back in her seat, put her headphones in and spent a long while looking out of the window, pretending he didn't exist.<p>

She still felt like a terrible person and she knew that every second she spent with him this weekend would add to the horror she felt at what she had done to him. She had, in effect, bribed him into this. She would give him the money, even if he didn't ask about it. She'd give him all the money he wanted because she knew he'd be her rock this weekend.

There was no going back now, they couldn't turn their backs on what they were about to do and Mary didn't want to. She wanted to prove her mother and sisters wrong for one and, even though she knew there was probably a better way than this to do it, she didn't really have time to look for one. It was only when they were half way through their two-hour journey that Mary realized something.

"We need a backstory" She said, taking out her headphones. Matthew looked at her, slightly confused. "You know, how we met, where we met, how long we've been together, funny little stories we have..."

"Right." Was all he said so Mary rolled her eyes.

"Well...we met at University, that much is easy enough to believe. We met while we were both getting coffee. True story" She thought about it for a moment. "We've been together three months-"

She suddenly had a thought and just as quickly pulled up Facebook on her phone and a few seconds later, Matthew's phone buzzed.

"What did you just do?" He asked, glancing down at his pocket where his phone was lighting up. Mary smirked, slightly amused.

"Don't worry, I didn't send you a virus or anything. I sent you a relationship request on Facebook and you'd better not decline. We have to make this as realistic as possible, OK?"

Mary watched as Matthew nodded and she steadily began to feel anxious. Had she been stupid to ask him? Well, of course she had. Stupid and selfish. She'd seen the way he looked at her when she asked him and everytime she thogut of it, she hated herself a little bit more. Matthew was a good person, a forgiving person, but even he had looked as if he simply couldn't believe what she was asking. As if she'd asked him to steal a bank. Of course, as well as being good and forgiving, Matthew was always honest and, if Mary was honest with herself, she was thinking of him as a slight liability. What if he was_ too _honest? What if he stumbled and spilled the beans to shrewd, astute Alexandra, or sweet, sensative Sybil, or innocent, trusting Katherine! Or worse...Edith!

The rest of the ride was rather uneventful and once, they stopped at a Petrol Station where Mary climbed out of the car and went inside to buy a bottle of coke for each of them. When she walked back out of the shop, adjusting the back of her jeans, it was to see Matthew staring as the price of her petrol shot up. She had to hide her amusement; he was so baffled by what she was prepared to pay to fill up her car.

When they finally rounded the corner of the Downton Estate and the house loomed up ahead of them, Mary watched Matthews face eagerly and saw him swallow. Clearly, she was right about him; he'd never been anywhere so grand in his life. Downton was probably incredibly daunting to him and, to be honest, that didn't bode well for the rest of the weekend. She had to remind him that they were supposed to have been together a while and, therefore, he would be aware of the grandeur she had experienced in her childhood and teenage years.

They climbed out of the car and Mary bent down to view herself in the wing mirror, wiping away the smudged mascara beneath her eye and reapplying a layer of red lipstick. She had finished applying her make-up and was fluffing up her hair when she realized that Matthew was taking their things out of the car and she quickly straightened up and turned around.

"Matthew," She hissed, "What on earth are you doing!" She gave him a sharp look and a minute shake of the head and a moment later, there were footsteps behind her and she watched as the footmen, Tomas and William went rushing past them and waited as Matthew stepped aside. When he had done so, they each picked up their share of the luggage and a maid rushed out behind them to gather Mary's dress up in her arms. They retreated, wordlessly back into the house, leaving Matthew to stare at Mary with bewilderment and a slightly hurt expression. Once again, she had to fight a laugh and instead just shook her head slightly. She walked to his side, linked his arm and began walking towards the house, giving him the quickest lesson he would ever have in his life.

"One; Never carry your own luggage. Two; Never insult the servants, not that you would anyway, Saint Matthew. Three; Try not to get on Granny's bad side. Four; Act like your from some kind of important family. Your father is...the owner of a large bank in London and your mother is..."

"An actress?" Matthew offered, sheepishly and Mary gave him an appalled look.

"Goodness, no. Granny would practically burn you at the stake! She considers acting a much too...rowdy profession ever since we watched Titanic with Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet. I'll admit, watching the car scene with her was one of the most mortifying times of my life"

They had made it to the doors and Mary had to admit, Matthew was doing quite well. He didn't look like he was going to throw up, at any rate, and he was holding himself up steadily as she linked him; his expression was one of polite determination and rather business like. Mary greeted the servants who stood at the door to greet them and they she heard the voice she'd been expecting since they parked. Her mother.

"Mary, my darling. How lovely it is to see you!" Cora was walking down the stairs towards them with a large smile on her face and Mary whispered to Matthew, not opening her lips enoug that her mother would notice.

"And so it begins"

* * *

><p><strong>I'm soooo sorry its been forever!<strong>  
><strong>Exams are driving me CRAZY and I've got them non-stop until the 25th June!<strong>

**Seriously, What is life?**

**Anyway, hope you guys are still alive and interested in this story, if not I don't blame you; I hate waiting too!**

**R&R for me!**

**Stephanie xx**


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